Caretaker accused of groping NSD special needs student, held on bail

A 63-year-old man is being held on $100,000 bail after he was accused of groping a 17-year-old girl with special needs on a Northshore School District bus.

Ivo K. Atanasov is accused of groping the girl on May 17 on a special needs bus.

He was a caretaker hired to watch another special needs student who was on the bus.

According to a Bothell Police Department affidavit based off video footage, while the bus driver was helping Atanasov’s student off the bus, he walked up to the 17-year-old and groped her while keeping an eye on the bus driver.

When the driver helped Atanasov’s student off the bus, he left as well.

The victim then told another student on the bus and the bus driver what had happened.

According to the affidavit, Atanasov said he had “patted hands with her like a high five and brushed her chest with his hands to be playful and funny,” and he allegedly said “it was my idea for fun. Fun for her.”

However, police said video footage from the van shows Atanasov grabbing the victim’s breasts, rubbing her face and moving his hands lower before exiting the bus.

Charging documents filed by King County prosecutors describe Atanosov’s actions as “abhorrent and brazen,” stating that since he is the caregiver for a disabled female there was concern about additional abuse.

“This defendant represents a danger to vulnerable clients as well as young women like [the victim],” the charging document reads.

Atanasov was booked into King County Jail on one count of indecent liberties, a class-B felony.